The $5,000-to-win triumphs put McDowell of Chickamauga, Georgia, and Sheppard of New Berlin, Illinois, in prime position for Saturday’s $48,000-to-win World 100. Saturday’s heat races for the crown jewel event will be set based on drivers’ performances on Thursday and in a second night of preliminary action on Friday.

McDowell, who won the World 100 in 2005 and finished second last year, started fourth and battled early with defending World 100 champion Scott Bloomquist and Wheelersburg’s RJ Conley. But his car quickly came to life and he found the low line and took the lead. He never looked back and took the checkered flag.

“That’s my preferred line, McDowell said. “I think that’s the best place to take care of your tires. Brandon (Sheppard) looked awfully good around the top, so I think it’s just where you get your car balanced. Our package just seems to work in the middle to the bottom – although in the heat race I was able to run up top.

“It takes two different style race cars, two different style setups to run the top and the bottom and be the best at either one. We’ll just have to see what the track conditions are, what the preparation is, what the weather may do.”

Darrell Lanigan, of Union, Kentucky, charged to a second place finish while Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tennessee, flirted with Eldora’s famous wall to finish third. Last minute entry Chris Madden, of South Carolina, who started 12th, worked his way to fourth while Georgian and current World of Outlaws Late Models Series point leader Shane Clanton rounded out the top five.

Illinois’ Sheppard, who is just 22, started second in A-Feature No. 2 but took the victory.

Early on, however, he was in a fierce battle with Eldora favorite Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Michigan, as the two fought for control. Making contact on a few occasions, they battled for several laps before Sheppard found speed on the top and pulled away for the victory.

“It feels awesome,” Sheppard said. “It’s a really prestigious racetrack, and my father and grandfather put a lot of hard earned money in my program. It means a lot to them, and it means a lot to me because I’ve put a lot of hard work into the cars and the program.

“We were sitting at Rocket Chassis (in Shinnston, West Virginia) on Tuesday with basically a bare frame and two crew guys, and I got it ready and left at midnight and made it here at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. It’s a lot of hard work and dedication.”

Two-time World 100 winner Jimmy Owens worked his way up to second followed by VanWormer. Dennis Erb Jr., was fourth with 2015 Dream winner Jonathan Davenport finishing fifth.

The 45th World 100 Weekend continues on Friday with a second night of preliminary competition. The 106-car field will again be split into two groups for heat races, B-Mains and 25-lap features that will both pay $5,000 to the winners.

The blockbuster weekend concludes Saturday night with World 100 heat races, B-Mains and the 100-lap, $48,000-to-win main event. Fans can obtain tickets information for the World 100 by going online to www.EldoraSpeedway.com or contacting the Eldora offices at 937-338-3815.

Fans who can’t make it to Eldora in person this weekend can still watch all the action live by purchasing the live Pay-Per-View video broadcast of all three nights of action that is available at live.eldoraspeedway.com.